An escaped bird dubbed the Camden Peacock has finally been returned to London Zoo after a year on the run.

The green peafowl, incorrectly referred to as a peacock on social media and by news outlets, disappeared from the zoo’s Snowdon Aviary when a visitor propped open the exhibit’s door.

Over the past few months there have been repeated sightings of the bird across north London.

Several attempts to recapture it have been made, including by police as well as the zoo’s bird team who regularly monitored the peafowl while she remained in the area.

The bird has been found to be placid but not keen on returning to her home, evading being grabbed by roosting in the tall trees of Regent’s Park or flying away whenever approached.

This changed yesterday when she was spotted at Three Acres pre-school in Belsize Park.

Staff managed to secure the bird in their playground using football goals until keepers arrived and take her away.

The unnamed peafowl is being checked over by vets, and will return to her enclosure soon.